Lubricator



Nov. 26, 1929. J. c. SHARP LUBR I CAT OR Filed May 9, 1924 attoz wug resTENHES$EE, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL OIL CF-ZATTANOGGA, TENNESSEE, ACORPQRATION OF LUBEICATOB,

Application filed May 9, 1924. Serial No. 711,985.

lhis invention provides a most effective lubricating means characterizedby extreme simplicity of construction and extraordinary economy in theuse of oil, and which'is capable of a wide application but is moreparticularly intended for use in situations wherein the oiler may bemost conveniently positioned below the part to be oiled. The lubricationof overhead shafting whose hangers or bearings are suspended fromceilings form a leading example of a use in which the lubricating meansforming this invention has an advantage additional to those derived fromits great simplicity and efficiency.

Bearing boxes for overhead shafting are sometimes of the ring oiler tyae whicli embodies a reservoir from which the oil is fed by rings andsometimes of type merely pro vided with holes through which oil issquirted at suitably frequent intervals by an attendant. This inventioncalls for no special construction of bearing box, being applicable toeither of the foregoing types, or to any other type it being understood,however, that when it is applied to the ring oiler type the rings areunnecessary and should be removed.

In the accompanying drawings, one emodimentof the invention is shown butchanges in the details may be made, without departing from the spirit ofthe invention. or the scope of appended claims. In said drawings,wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in theseveral views Fig. 1 is a view, partlyin section, of a part of anoverhead shaft and. anordinary type of bearing therefor, provided withthe lubricating means of the present invention arranged at opposite endsof said bearing,

Fig. 2 is a view, on a larger scale than Fig. 1. showing a part of theshaft and hearing box and a part of the lubricating means, wholly insection: and also showing a guard for the container,

Fig. 3 is a view showing the invention applied to a bearing of the typehaving a reservoir, the reservoir, however, performing no reservoirfunction when this lubricating means is applied thereto.

A designates a shaft to be oiled and B 50 designates one very ordinaryform of bearing through which the shaft extends. C is the Babbitt liningof said box.

The oiler constituting the present invention comprises a suitable oilcontainer, as D, and a rigid suspending unit for said container, whichunit includes an oil filtering and feeding element F tightly encased ina rigid hollow bodymember, as the sleeve E for example. The oilfiltering and feeding element F is a Wooden plug, preferably having astraight grain extending lengthwise thereof and preliminarily treated toremove pitch, tar, resin, moisture, etc, therefrom, and thereby to openthe pores for the free passage of oil therethrough, the treatmentpreferably consisting in the boiling of the feeder in oil, at a temperature sufiiciently high to remove the resin, etc, but below thepointat which the feeder would be scorched or charred. The wood is thenpreferably but not necessarily filled with a suitable lubricating oil,as one having the characteristics of that in connection with the feedingof which it is to be used,

In the illustrated embodiment of the inbe secured to the bearing B andhas its lowerend providedwith means by which the connection betweenthesleeve and the oil container D will be suiiiciently loose to permit saidas the flange e, to engage the underside of the I cap I), said caphaving an opening cl through which the sleeve extends loosely. Below theflange e the sleeve E is shown as formed with a polygonal head 6 to beengaged by a wrench for convenience in screwing the threaded upper end 6of the sleeve 7 into a hole formed in the bearing B to receive the same.

and the upper end of the element F is then cut down flush with thecontiguous surface of the Babbitt lining C, through which it extends, itbeing understood, of course, that in the assembling of the sleeve E andelement F the protrusion of the latter from the upper end of thesleeveis of such extent as tojpermit a portion thereof to be removed infitting the container suspending and oil feeding unit to thebearing' andshaft, i. e. to assure proper. holding engagement of the sleeve- E withthe bearing and proper contact of the element F with the shaft. When thesaid unit and the lower half of the bearing have been thus assembled,said half of the bearing isthen secured to the upper half of thebearing, about the shaft, and thereafter the container D with a supplyof oil therein is secured to the cap D, and the oil will then be takenup by the Wooden plug F and fed by the latter continuously and slowly tothe shaft, in amount automatically regulated by the speed of rotation ofthe shaft, and never in any excessive amount. WVhenever the oil in thecontainer D'is to be renewed, it is necessary only tounscrewsaidcontainer from the cap D, refill it, and reserew it to said cap.

The simplicity of the construction is ap parent. It will be noted thatthere is an entire absenceof springs or other means exerting pressure onthe oil feeding element to hold it against the part to be lubricated.

There are only a few parts in the entire structure and these parts areof simple nature. The efliciency is remarkable. Several of them havegiven continuous service for nine months, on shafts running eight hoursa day, and throughout that entire time consumed only about one-half inchof oil in a two ounce container, about two inches in diameter at itswidest part. They have been used for lubricating shafts running from 300R. P. M. to 2500 R. P. M. and on shafts from oneinch to' three-inches indiameters with remarkable savings in the use of oil 1n all cases.

Five weeks use on a shaft running 2500 R. P. M. showed nonoticeabledepletion of the oil in the container, which was the sizehereinbefore mentioned, namely, a two ounce bottle about two inches indiameter atits widest part. In no case, has there been any deteriorationin the hearings or shafts, and it has been established that in everycase the proper amount of lubricant, without either excess on the onehand or under supply on the other, has been fed to the parts to belubricated.

The loose suspension of the container D from the sleeve E insures thatthe vibrations to which the bearing is subjected will not becommunicated to the container, and hence the danger of slackening of thecontainer cap spring fingers h which by pressing upon the cap D alsotend to prevent slackening of the cap. 1

As the replenishing of the'oil calls only for the detaching of thecontainer D from the cap D, leaving the latter in place on the sleeve Eand said sleeve with the feeder plug F assembled in position withrelation to the bearing and shaft, it is apparent that the attendant mayquickly and conveniently renew the supply of oil, and with no danger ofwaste or spillage of oil upon products in course of manufactureadjacentthe containers, which particularly in certain installations, is of greatimportance, an instance being textile manufacture in which the drippageof oil upon the textile being manufactured is disastrous. There isslight, if any possibility of drippage from the wooden plug F when thecontainer is off, as the plug never takes up more oil than it can giveoff, but if there should be any excess of oil in the plug 7 at themoment the container is removed this can readily be wiped off and noexcess on the surface will thereafter develop while the container isremoved. 7

The use of a wood plug F as the oilfeeding element makes it practicableto arrange the container at any distance below the bearing from' oneinch up to. several feet, the plug efficiently conducting the oil slowlybut surely to the shaft to be lubricated, regardless of its length.l/Vith further reference to the plug, it may benoted thatit should bemade of a close grained wood, such as pine, and that the fit between itand the sleeve E should be sufficiently close not only to form a rigidunit of these two elements, preventing their accidental separation atany ti1ne,'but also to compress the plug, thereby assuring a slow feedof theoil, the preliminary treatment-to which the plug is subjectedassuring that the feed be continuous and that the oil will. be pure, theplug acting not only to feed.- but to filter the oil. This plug and theprocess of making it has been illustrated, described and claimed in aseparate application for Letters Patent filed by me December 11, 1922,Serial No. 606,332. v I i Having thus described the invention, what Ibelieve to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An oil feeding means comprising an oil container having a detachablecap, and an oil-feeding unit extending through the cap and having asuspending connection therewith, said unit including a hollow suspendingmember and a wooden plug tightly tted in said member and protrudingtherefrom.

2. In an oil feeding means, an oil feeding and oil-container suspendingunit having a hollow member and a wooden plug tightly fitted in saidmember and protruding therefrom, an oil container, and means providing aloose connection between the reservoir and unit.

3. An oil feeding means, comprising an oilcontainer having a detachablecap, and an oil-feeding and container-suspending unit having a hollowmember which extends loosely through the cap and is provided with meansto co-operate with the cap in suspending the container, said unit alsohaving a wooden plug tightly fitted in said member and protrudingtherefrom.

4. In an oil feeding means, an oil container having a cap threadedlyconnected thereto, and an oil feeding unit comprising a tubular memberand a wooden plug tight- ].y fitted in said member, said memberextending loosely through the cap and having a shoulder below the cap toco-operate with the cap in suspending the container.

5. In an oil feeding means, an oil container having a movable cap, anoil feeding unit comprising a tubular member and a wooden plug tightlyfitted in said member, said unit having means to engage the cap andsuspend said container, and a guard having resilient means to engagesaid cap and hold it in place.

6. In an oil feeding means, an oil container having a movable cap, anoil feeding unit comprising a tubular member and a wooden plug tightlyfitted in said member, said unit extending loosely through said cap andhaving a shoulder which co-operates with the cap in suspending saidcontainer from said unit, and a guard connected to said unit havingresilient means outside the container to bear upon said cap. 7

7. An oil feeding unit for lubricators comprising a suspending tubularmember and an oil feeding wooden plug tightly fitted in said member andprotruding therefrom and for carrying the oil upwardly to the bearing.

8. An oil feeding unit for lubricators comprising a tubular suspendingmember and an oil feeding plug formed of a closegrained wood treated toremove resinous and similar ingredients therefrom, said member and plugbeing tightly fitted to each other.

9. An oil feeding unit for lubricators comprising a tubular suspendingmember and an oil feeding plug formed of a closegrained wood treated toremove resinous and similar ingredients therefrom, said plug beingfitted in said member with sufficient tightness to be under compression.

10. An oil feeding unit for lubricators comprising a tubular member anda wooden plug tightly fitted in said tubular member and protrudingtherefrom, the tubular member having a shoulder near one end to suspendan oil container and being threaded at its other end to engage a bearingand having below said shoulder a polygonal section for convenience inscrewing it into the bearing.

11. An oil feeding meanscomprising an oil container and a rigidoil-feeding and container-suspending unit formed separate from thecontainer and including a rigid hollow body member provided with meansto secure it immovably to a bearing and with means from which thecontainer may be suspended, and a wooden oil-feeding and filtering plugtightly fitted in and immovable with relation to said member, andprotruding therefrom.

12. An oil feeding and container-suspending unit comprising a rigidtubular body member one of whose end portions is formed to be secured tothe bearing to be lubricated and the other of whose end portions hasmeans to suspend the oil container, and a rigid oil feeding andfiltering plug tightly fitted in said body member and protrudingtherefrom, said plug formed of wood from which natural pore fillingsubstances have been removed to thereby increase its capillarity.

In testimon whereof I afiix my signature.

OI-IN CESSNA SHARP.

